These posts are probably going to end up out of order, but maybe I can force them to switch dates via admin.
Currently trying out posting from Denver International Airport, hooked to the Blackberry using AT&T Connection Manager. It won’t be mistaken for true high speed access, but better than dial up, and definately better than no connection!
A bad week for flying, a short list of things:
Tues: Toronto to Detroit = Five minute storm = 2.5 hour delay.
Wed: Detroit to Denver = five hour delay while they tried to fix plane, then substituted another one.
Wed/Thur AM: Arrive in Denver 1 am. No cars at the Avis lot. Had to wait for one to be returned. Got car, walked to far end of lot with luggage, wrong car (gave me a big honking van – didn’t want to try Pikes Peak in that!) Got new car. Got to hotel at 2:30 am.
Get to room, they were nice and gave me a smoking room. Had the pleasant odor of excessive air spray used in a failed attempt to cover the stale burned tobacco scent. Called to desk and after being told there are no other rooms available I finally did get another room. Then had to pack back up and move, but far better than left smelling like an old stogey or barroom all week.
Saturday morning get email from NWA, the Sunday flight is cancelled – already – no crew. I am automatically booked on a flight Monday – way to late.
Spend 59 minutes on hold waiting for travel agency to answer. (I heard “your business is important to us perhaps 45 times during the wait.)
Get new flight on Frontier airline. Waiting to see what happens now!
Now, with the whining done, the good things that happened.
The site I visited for work did really well. That makes the job easier. So…. I finished up late Thursday and was done and ready for some fun!
Friday morning I got up early (It helps to be two time zones “ahead”, so getting up at 6 am is more like 8 am.) Took for for Rocky Mountain National Park. I was there last November, but most things were closed. This time it was great. Took the high road which is billed as the Higest Continuous Road (meaning it is not a “dead end” at the top.) all the way through the park, crossed the continental divide on both sides of the park. It is a really nice park. More time, it would be fun to hike some of the trails back to “the really good stuff”.
From there headed to the other side of Denver and Mount Evans. Mt. Evans is billed as “The Highest Paved Road” in the US. So they are both the higest, just depends on your selection criteria! It was really fun, albiet a little treacherous driving. (see the photos of the road edges crumbling away!) Then at the very top a hike of about a quarter mile (at 14, 200 feet mind you!) and you arrive at the summit.
Unfortunately the day was not the best viewing conditions. Oh did I mention it was snowing at the top! But the weather changes even faster than Detroit, so in a few minutes there was some clear sky and did get some short range photos.
From there I made a big loop south, but the small map and wide open spaces fooled me and I was to late to get to do the next activity on my “to-do in Denver” checklist.
Back to hotel, some rest, and ready to roll again at 6 am Saturday. Oops, got email from NWA with cancelled flight. Spend hour on phone working that out, leave later than planned. Fortunately I don’t work to an exact time table. Do what I want, when I feel like it, and only have to watch things are open when I arrive!
Next stop on the Colorado tour is the Gold Mine tour. I also tried to visit this last trip, but it was closed for the season. No so this time! Taking a small steel cage, which four people have to SQUEEZE into 1,000 feet straight down into the mine! Whoo Boy.
Check the photo album, not the best photo conditions, but you can see some of the things I did. A short movie you can watch too. It was pretty cool…. literally, at about 40 degrees the jacket I took felt good. The tour was really interesting and if you ever get a chance and are in Cripple Creek Colorado go visit the Mary Kathleen mine.
After coming up (whew!) out of the mine shaft and seeing daylight again, the guide wanted to show us (a geology teacher from Iowa and myself) the original mine equipment. He was a really nice guy, sounds like he has “gold fever” to me. Works his own claim, and is captivated by the possibility of unfound gold laying around the larger mines.
He also suggested that we drive by the American Eagle open pit mine which was not to far from the Mary Kathleen mine. He wrote out directions for us (No wonder there are so many lost gold mines around!) and needless to say, base on these directions I never found it. I did pull out another Denver Tourist map and located the mine. It is pretty awe inspiring. It has been many years since I was at the Hull-Rust-Mahoning Mine in Hibbing, Minnesota, which was the largest open pit iron mine in the world, so not sure how big it is today, but this place was huge, and may, or may not be as deep (as my faulty memory serves) but it is quite expansive. The trucks in the bottom of the pit appear small, but when I was leaving I tried racing one to get ahead of it and get a picture… I lost that round, but another did go by shortly.
Next I wanted to head to Canon City, to the south of the current location. There are choices to be made. 1) Head south on the Phantom Canyon Road, or go back North, then across and down via the highway. Oh, Phantom Canyon Road is 30 miles of un-maintained, washboard, dirt, with the occasional wash out thrown in! I took this road last year, but then I had a Toyota 4-Runner, a little better suited than the Mercury Grand Marquis this trip. Oh well, who wants to go backwards! Phantom Canyon Road it is! (The rental may have to run this car through the car wash two or three times!) I made it safe and sound, making the suggested two hour drive in just under an hour, to Canon City. My goal here was to ride the Royal Gorge Railroad down the bottom of the gorge and back. Again last year I visited the TOP of the gorge and so this year was a totally different perspective. Looking up at the bottom of the bridge from the river level. The scenery is grand, the train ride was really fun and different. Traveler Tip 276: If you take this trip and are expecting to take pictures, they have open cars (sort of like a flat bed car with rails. It gives unrestricted views of everything, and you can go from side to side as you see something of interest. I had gotten the “middle level” ticket in the “Scenic Cruiser” which has curved glass windows so you can see up, but you are still restricted to one side of the car (unless you want to be really obnoxious) and the windows could use a little Windex and elbow grease, so I spent 90% of the time on the open car. So, save your money, get a coach ticket and hang out on the open cars. This actually changed my other choice. They have a ticket to allow you to ride in the cab of the engine. There are only two per trip, one was open yet, and I was going to go for it, but they said you cannot leave the engine. I didn’t like the sound of that since I knew I would like to take photos, so went with the Scenic Cruiser option.
See all the photos of the trip.
The train got back about 5 PM, I saddled up and headed back to Denver, passing through Cold Springs. (Note to self: next trip have to do the Air Force Academy).
Back at the hotel I packed everything up getting ready for an early morning departure. I wanted to get to the airport early to make sure this ticket exchange went okay, had to fill the car with gas, return it to the rental agency, and so on.
The ticket exchange went off without a hitch, I even managed to snag an exit row seat – too bad my seatmate was a 300 pounder, oh well, I made it home.
That about does it for Denver.
Be sure to check the short movie at the end of the photo album.
